


Names

by mcicioni



Category: The Magnificent Seven (1960)
Genre: Ficlet, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-15
Updated: 2019-06-15
Packaged: 2020-05-12 13:50:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19230397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcicioni/pseuds/mcicioni
Summary: First names can mean more than one may think.





	Names

"Can you tell us your first name? _Su nombre de pila?_ " 

  


He was the eldest, and he learned that there was a pattern to the naming of each new brother or sister. Every time, his father would shout that the family was American, Irish-American. And every time, his mother would weep a little, then smile at him and softly ask that the baby be allowed to have a bit, just a tiny bit, of her own heritage. And so, after him, came Consuelo, Juan, Manuel, Mercedes, Dolores and Esteban. 

Esteban was the last one - their mother died giving birth to him. Their father tried to bring them up alone, as best as he could. He mostly ignored his daughters. He was harsh with his sons, making them learn to punch, kick, gouge. "Everyone respects Irishmen," he would shout at them. "Because they hit first, or they hit harder. Either way, they get respect. And you're Irishmen."

His father never told him that a man can also earn respect by accepting responsibilities. So he, the eldest son, left home at seventeen, fought and drifted, learning a few trades and eventually settling on one where he could earn quite a bit of money and the kind of respect that does not come with responsibilities.

In his chosen work, he was known by his father's last name. His mother, and the gentleness and caring she tried to pass on to her sons and daughters together with their Christian names and fragments of her customs, were buried together, occasionally remembered, never spoken of. Until he came to this village. 

  


_"Mi nombre de pila?_ Yeah, I'll tell you. It's Bernardo."


End file.
